A legend passed a legend in Boston tonight. Paul Pierce needed 10 points to move past Larry Bird for No. 2 in Celtics history but Pierce dropped him by the third quarter as the Celtics beat the Bobcats, 94-84. Pierce will never move past the man from French Lick in the hearts and minds of Boston fans, even with now 21,797 points, but tonight wasn’t just about the points for The Truth. He added nine assists and eight boards to go with 15 points. Is that how a Celtic captain does it or not? … You knew Rajon Rondo (14 assists and 10 points) was looking for Pierce every time down the floor, too, and the C’s were setting up sets for him every chance they got. Not that the Bobcats could focus solely on the record man tonight. The other Big Two, KG (22 points) and Ray Allen (17 points) kept the Bobcats guessing … There’s still no love lost for Cleveland fans when they play King James (24 points) but no one thinks a Heat-Cavs game’s going to go any different than it did Tuesday. The South Beach All-Stars roped Cleveland, 107-91, with Wade going for 26 points. We’re always on the lookout for when the Heat have started ‘clicking’ but how about 11 wins in 13 games? That passes our test for a team in sync. Erik Spoelstra could have taken a nap tonight. Then again, he would have missed another big-time night from the top pick, Kyrie Irving (16 points, six boards, six assists). Anderson Varejao is playing out of his mind in the last two weeks, but Irving is putting the team on his shoulders right now. Interesting thing we heard yesterday that we hadn’t really given thought until now: Irving could legitimately be an All-Star. What other guards in the East – besides the starters – have really been better? 18 and five should get you a few looks, even if you are a freshman … Michael Redd got the video tribute treatment in Milwaukee as he returned a Sun. He choked up in pregame watching it, but did his business (14 points). Then he let the birthday boy Steve Nash hit a layup with five seconds left to ice it. That’s three straight for Phoenix. Forget the Giants’ victory parade, that deserves a parade in Arizona the way this year’s gone …

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02.08.12 at 3:05 am

UncheckedAggression

Ha, that doesn’t mean Love did it on purpose. Jeez, let it go. I can honestly say that it didn’t look to be on purpose but I could be wrong. Just don’t pretend like there’s no chance it was an accident.

I can’t wait to see the smirk get wiped off Durant’s face in the playoffs. He’s really getting on my nerves. Getting more calls than anyone in the league and no way in hell has he deserved it. Maybe I’m just a little angry over their last couple games, but still. When he got the breakaway dunk at the end of the Blazer game and acted like he did something I wanted somebody to knock him on his ass.

02.08.12 at 3:50 am

Me

i dont think love did it on purpose. i mean he wasnt looking and if scola keeps his head 2 inches lower, or to either side we’re not having this convo. way too incidental for someone who wasnt watching where he stepped, although he did look to step over him and he did try to pull him down right before that. but the kick? i dont think so.

and chauncey already said he’s not retiring, didn’t he?

02.08.12 at 3:59 am

EN FUEGO

How does a flopper flop again when he’s already flopped?
Lift your head a few inches and take the hit. That’s right.

02.08.12 at 4:59 am

beiber the bounty hunter

Anyone else think Westbook needs to be in the dunk contest? Also, how long before the Thunder do a reto night and come out in sonic jerseis? (Sorry AB!)

Can we give Nash another MVP if he leads the league in assists with that Phoenix team? He’s probably looking at Chris Paul and wondering how he doesn’t average 20 dimes a game!

02.08.12 at 5:13 am

Showtime

Monta Ellis = Bad Porn 2.0

02.08.12 at 5:14 am

Reg

@UncheckedAggression Durant gets on my nerves too. I thought I was the only one.

Gotta feel bad for Billups, it looks like the clippers curse continues….I fear for Griffin and Paul’s cranky knees even more now.

02.08.12 at 5:43 am

EN FUEGO

FYI. Did you know some officials (backed by a wealthy native dude) have been working behind the scenes for the past few months and bring the NBA back to Seattle, almost ready to build a new arena as early as fall..?

If Scola slipped and fell on his own, then Love stepped on him, fine, accident. But no, Kevin Love threw Scola on the ground, looked down and had that I-got-away-with-that? face, shuffled his feet and then stepped on top of Luis Scola’s face/chest.

I know what some of your are probably thinking…
~Scola shouldn’t have fallen in the first place~ Correct, gravity can be a b!tch sometimes.
“If Scola keeps his head 2 inches lower…” Fine, whatever, Wikipedia also states that “…people indigenous to South America have been known to display the ability of passing through floors, walls, and ceilings but only up to a max of 6 inches.” This would have been a great time for Scola to get his Casper on, to avoid getting his face stomped.
~He shouldn’t have flopped, because he is known to flop~ Yeah, because Kevin Love had no intentions of an intentional foul and was playing stellar mime defense.

I’d believe it was an accident if Klove stepped on his shoulder and stumbled a little. However, he balances himself quite nicely on top of a guy waddling in pain.

02.08.12 at 8:11 am

tron

if love did it on purpose this could be why
how could the refs miss love getting to shit fouled out of him, the scola’s rediculous flop, and then love kicking him in the face? scola is known to flop so no sympathy there. i spend plenty of my time not laying on a basketball court if only for that reason. lol

and durant does get a lot of calls. i dont watch okc but i noticed when they played the blazers. the officials were horrible and it went both ways. some of the calls against okc were make-up calls, which i dont like no matter who it benefits.

02.08.12 at 8:39 am

Big Freeze

“We’re out like Chauncey Billups’ career.”

That’s a little harsh, Dime. Show some respect for a Big Shot. He’ll be back.

02.08.12 at 8:39 am

First & Foremost

@tron, being that low to the ground does have its disadvantages.

Make-up calls are never fair. Hypothetically… Durant draws a foul on Blake Griffin which happens to be his 2nd in the first quarter. How do you counter the importance of that bad call? Do the Clippers get the nex Out of bounds call in their favor? Thabo picks up a random holding/reaching foul? Loose ball foul Ibaka? One team loses a player for about 20 possessions while the make up call only gives me one additional possession. The bad thing, there is no solution for it.

After blown goaltending call, the ref can’t say my bad, your team gets the ball and we will take the basket away. Possession after violation can’t be determined. IMO, human error needs to be a part of sports.

02.08.12 at 8:49 am

tron

@first & foremost
i see what you’re saying about human error but its annoying to see the pace of the game blown to shit with all the whistles. nothing wrong with a good hard foul to stop a basket but alot of these calls are rediculous.

Pierce is the man! That guy’s toughed out some lean years to get here and the city LOVES him for it. [www.redsarmy.com] No, he can’t be better than one of the 5 best players ever but he’s still beloved here. Regardless of the team you like, you gotta love a guy that’s wanted to make HIS TEAM into a contender instead of leave for greener pastures. The Reggie Millers of the world are few and far between; appreciate them when they don’t do the crap people hated on Bron for (looking at you, Steve Nash.)

oh, and Kevin Love DEFINITELY did that on purpose, probably thinking to himself, “Try flopping after this.”

02.08.12 at 9:36 am

EN FUEGO

Stole this one from a piece I just read.

The Timeline for Asian-American Names in Pickup Basketball:

– In the 1980’s it was “Bruce” (Lee)
– Mid 90’s every Asian looking dude was called “Jackie Chan”
– In 2000 they were “Yao” (Ming)
– 2012: “Jeremy” (Lin) or maybe “Shao-Lin”

02.08.12 at 9:42 am

First & Foremost

@En Fuego, Human error and willingly making bad calls for personal gain are different. If a ref makes a bad call, making more bad calls doesn’t help the game. In live action a goaltending call from his vantage point may or may not be different from a camera mounted on top of the backboard or a camera on a pivot 10 feet off the floor. It looked like a goaltending to him.

He shouldn’t a moving pick or holding on the next play just to “even” the score.

02.08.12 at 9:49 am

the shaman

they probably meant first triple-duoble by a Warriors big man. surely Baron had one?

02.08.12 at 9:54 am

the shaman

Steph Curry had a trip-doub almost one year ago (2/10/10), good call!

02.08.12 at 9:54 am

the shaman

I mean two years ago. what year is this?

02.08.12 at 9:59 am

Showtime

@ En Fuego

I thought about the +/- spread when I was watching that Blazers-Thunder game. Tim Donaghy’s good buddy Scott Foster was part of the referee crew that called the Blazers-Thunder game. Remember him?

co-sign with @Big Freeze on the outro @Dime… a lil harsh for Mr Big Shot..

as for Durant, there ain’t no doubt the cat is one of the L’s latest poster boys, him and Blake Griffin… he’ll get the calls and everything, just like Bron had during his last few years as a Cav… the only thing left to be seen is how he takes the hype… will he let this get into his head or will he stay grounded?

It’s that time of year again for the usual Spurs beat down by the Sixers. Spurs just can’t win in Philly and I bet they get taken out again tonight

02.08.12 at 10:06 am

jdizzle

@beiber they need to put SOMEBODY in the dunk contest cuz as of right now no one is in it.

Wow…didn’t realize Minnesota was over. 500. Although Cleveland has a better chance to make it since they’re in the east, if they can manage to sneak in the playoffs then Rubio wins ROY hands down.

02.08.12 at 10:15 am

That's What's Up

I have a lot of respect for Rick Adelman. That dude just gets it done everywhere he’s gone. He takes sorry-ass teams and improves the hell out of them.

Right now the Timberwolves are at 13-12 and are one game out of a playoff spot. The freakin Timberwolves could make the playoffs this year. That’s incredible. Adelman just gets it done. respect

02.08.12 at 10:32 am

JAY

I once stepped on a dude in a game. He took a charge (well, tried to), it was called a blocking foul on the shot AND 1. The dude’s mistake was he was already falling backwards when we collided, when I landed he was already on the floor and I put my right foot directly in the middle of his chest. His sister, who was fine as hell, and his other entourage who came to watch the game let me have it from the crowd. Every time I touched the ball = “F you, 22!!” I loved it. The funny thing was we both ended up playing in all-star games together and he told me that he had a bruise on his chest that was in the shape of my foot for a week after. If I grew up today, you just know for sure that shit would be youtubed or FB’ed.

Wall-Lin tonight.

I’m out like DIME’s respect. Fuckin clowns.

02.08.12 at 10:33 am

beiber newz

the boy kyrie getting the hardware at season’s end. I have little to no doubt about it. Rubio is so nice though. But kyrie plays better. It’s crazy to me, how rubio has been a pro for so long and irving is just some legit fresh outta college kid with little experience on that stage but is doing it big in the L. Thas y I respect him that much more than rubio cuz both are ballin out but kyrie doesn’t have the same pre-league resume. Imagine him in 5 years. He is the next big-shot as in chauncey’s mentality. Game like cp3, and savvy like a vet. With a knockdown jumper. Already shows he is clutch and has command of his sorry squad with no all stars. Altho varejao is playing borderline all starish this year.

02.08.12 at 10:34 am

JDish

This whole Love-Scola throwdown debate is funny.
But let me tell you it wasn’t an accident. For one, as Dime says in smack, these two have been going at it all along right, … so you think KLove just smacks the ball out of Scola’s hands, sees Scola slip/trip to the ground, sees him on the floor and “Accidently” steps on him. Nah man, Kevin Love had space to move out of the way, and keep on moving. BUT nope, KLove eyed the target, saw the chance, and laid down some “Love” -errr- laid down a stomp on Scola’s face. Kevin Love just made it look unintentional because it was during a sequence in the paint. Kinda like “Oooops, Ah look at that, you fell bro, thats too bad …” SLAAMM!! Thats for giving me crap all night!
Besides I remember a playoff game a few years back where Lamar Odom and Luke Walton had some words with Luis Scola. I think Scola is notorious for being a big mouth and a pain in the behind.

02.08.12 at 10:37 am

beiber newz

Adelman almost was the coach of the lakers this year. Imagine him with this rejuvenated kobe (fixed injuries) and this renewed bynum ? And he wulda loveddddd pau gasol. He likes versatile bigs (see vlade, webber)

02.08.12 at 10:53 am

That's What's Up

I once had to shoot tear gas in a dude’s face after a pick-up game. The guys was 8″ taller and had at least 80 pounds on me. Dumbshit came out to the parking lot to “continue”, started approaching my car like Cujo and I let his ass have it. He still almost got into my car, blindly, but enough to rub some of that gas on my neck and back – and that shit stung for hours.

My favorite part was, while I was leaving, this dude I didn’t know that was on my team walked past the guy who was now wimpering on the ground and said “That’s what you get for talking shit”

02.08.12 at 11:04 am

Chaos

Damn who is the biggest surprise this season? Minny or Cleveland? Minny has the better team with no experience while Cleveland has experienced players who are throwaways and a legit future star in Kyrie. Niether are ready, both fun to watch…

If Jeremy Lin score 20 again tonight, he’s the real deal.

That was harsh about Billups. Dude has been thru a lot in the L when he didn’t have to. Being drafted and constantly traded even tho he showed the skill. Has been a stand up guy and a leader wherever he goes.

I think all the players are warmed up now because we are starting to see a lot of high scoring games from players now. Monta was unconcious last night

LOL at who called him Bad porn 2.0… He is not that bad lol

02.08.12 at 11:12 am

First & Foremost

C’mon now, you step on a person’s foot and hand by accident. You have this big a$$ man rolling around on the ground and you’re telling me the only thing he could step on was his face?

If you believe Kevin Love’s stomp was an accident, do you also believe OJ didn’t do it?

But I guess one thing that is borderline okay for a man to use I would say is a taser. That shit gangsta. Watching someone in the process of being tased is hilarious too only if they deserved it. Like the morons who streak at important sporting games.

02.08.12 at 11:27 am

control

I was playing a pickup game once, got into it with the guy, who I was 8″ and about 100lbs heavier than. After the game I went to approached the guy to apologize, and he flipped out and shot me in the face with some tear gas. I couldn’t see shit, almost ended up in his car giving him a back massage, it was fucking crazy. I was laying on the ground looking for some water for my eyes, and this guy’s teammate walks up and says I deserved it for talking shit, wtf? I just wanted to apologize!

First time I watched the video with Love, I thought it was accidental, but after watching it a few times, it probably wasn’t a complete accident. The guy looks down, then fuckstarts him right in the face, almost like he was trying to do a brakestand on his chest. It MIGHT have been a natural reaction to thinking his legs were tied up, but that is unlikely, haha. On the brightside, Scola is frakenstein…if his chest gets fucked up, he can just install a new one.

02.08.12 at 11:37 am

JAY

@Chaos
I don’t think he needs to score 20 to prove shit tonight. He just needs to have a decent game. Wall is going to be up for that game, that’s a given, so it won’t be easy for him. Regardless, I think he’s legit already. 2 straight games of some of the best decision making I’ve seen this year is not a fluke. He’s no all-star, but I think he’s a legit starter. I’m almost ready for the Raptors to move Calderon for him. Lol.

Never thought somebody would be that damn bold again after what happened to Donaghy. Didn’t think the league would let shit like this back in their asses.

02.08.12 at 11:39 am

JAY

LMAO @ control

@TWU – You and your teammate who you didn’t know existed are assholes.

02.08.12 at 11:43 am

JDish

I think Cleveland is the biggest surprise of the season. With Minnesota you atleast new that there was going to be improvement because of Kevin Love continuing his work, Rick Adelman coming in and spreading his philosophy of good basketball, Ricky Rubio crossing over and bringing his 6pts a game and idk how many assists per, and just plain all around young squad hungry and growing together as a team.
Cleveland was a coin toss cause no one could have predicted that Kyrie Irving would make an impact so quickly. As well as the rest of the Cavs trying to follow Kyrie’s lead and playin as hard as they are.

02.08.12 at 11:47 am

EN FUEGO

Hahahaha @ control

02.08.12 at 11:48 am

JDish

@ That’s Whats Up
@ JAY
@ Control

I don’t know but I think a guy has to do something to protect himself. You never know what some other dude will do when he’s pist or bent after a game. Atleast it was pepper spray and not a taser.

02.08.12 at 11:55 am

That's What's Up

fuck that, the dude wanted to go and I had just run about 6 full court games. He dropped his gear about twenty feet from the car and was approaching at a high rate of speed. I wasn’t havin’ none of it. That big dumb green mile motherfucker would have put me in the hospital. Call it what you want, I call it being pro-active

02.08.12 at 11:58 am

JAY

Green Mile mofo

HAHAHAHAHAA!

02.08.12 at 12:08 pm

dagwaller

Lol @ TWUP and control.

Wilbon put it very well on PTI yesterday. At first, when you see someone get stepped upon, you cringe.

Then you remember that he hit Love in the nuts. That’s an open invitation for retaliation that every man understands. The NBA as a body had to punish Love, even if every single man in employ was slowly nodding.

I had a buddy of mine pull a fucking gun at a pick up game. He’s locked up now, but damn. Then I had the dudes climb out of the trees in Vegas. Somehow got mixed up in a crazy game between some gang bangers where they bet $500 a head, me and my buddy (non gang bangers) played harder than ever, won, and then everyone started running and taking off in cars. We panicked, hopped in his 5.0 (early 90’s), and sped off. Dudes who we played with chased us down! I’ve never shat myself harder. They caught us and we were yelling out the windows “it’s us!! It’s us!!! Don’t shoot!!!”. Awful.

The worst I ever did was playing in Newport Beach. They have this court that had some serious games. Dudes like Cherokee Parks etc… Anyway, this dude is just beating me up. The cheap elbows, lowbridges, grabbing, slapping… My little brother was there too and he was getting nervous. I tell the dude that I am gonna hit him if he keeps it up. So I am running down on offense and he pushes me in the back. I wheeled around and elbowed him right across the nose. It was a gash from underneath his left pupil all the way to under the right pupil. He says “why did you do that?!?!” I got in my car and cried. I felt SO bad. My brother was scared which made me feel even worse. He heard from people that I would scrap, but he never saw it until then. I have never felt worse about anything in my life than when my little brother saw me hit a dude.

02.08.12 at 12:36 pm

wcs

Rubio transforms the game. Irvin scores alot of points. Rubio leads the League in Steals, 3rd in assists and is an absolute terror on defense. If the wolves make the playoffs, its Rubio that needs to be in the mvp discusion, not Love. The wolves are a completely different team with ricky on the floor and every statistic shows it. Now if the Wolves only had someone to knock down an open shot, Rickys assist numbers are going to become unreal

02.08.12 at 12:39 pm

Austin Burton

I just notice that when it’s Ndamukong Suh or Marcus Vick stepping on or kicking somebody, words like “thug” and “dirty” get thrown around a lot more and a lot faster than when it’s Kevin Love or Steve Nash using their feet on an opponent.

02.08.12 at 12:47 pm

That's What's Up

Austin, ask BRUCE for the reason – none of us can figure it out

02.08.12 at 12:59 pm

Phileus

One day, Austin will win a Pulitzer prize for a brilliant article on racism beneath the surface in sports writing, and I will feel like a fool for wanting to troll him every time I saw a comment like #49…

02.08.12 at 1:04 pm

Celts Fan

@AB – I never heard the word “thug” tossed around for Suh, and Marcus Vick? I mean dude pulled a gun on someone at McDonald’s, so ya, that one kinda fits… To be fair, I ain’t never heard it about KG, who starts crap aaaallllllllll the time. I hear ya though, crazy double standard; you only hear it about the “scrappy” athletes in hockey, where most of them are “scrappy”

02.08.12 at 1:06 pm

JAY

AB
To be fair, those guys ARE dirty. Lol

Just to take your point further, if a brother not named Grant Hill, Durant, or DFish stepped on someone’s head, “unintentional” would not even be in the picture.

BRUCE… here’s your chance to get ignant.

02.08.12 at 1:10 pm

Phileus

CP3 is a good example too of how things like this aren’t completely race-based.

But race is at least a part of image, and Kevin Love’s All-American White Bread Beach Boy DNA does probably make it easier for the public to look the other way when this kind of thing happens.

02.08.12 at 1:12 pm

EN FUEGO

No doubt it would be different if some “Green Mile mofo” who did the stepping.

02.08.12 at 1:13 pm

Celts Fan

I also never heard the word “thug” for Kobe when he was doing his “thrash wildly after a foul and bust Manu in the face” routine, which was blatantly intentional too, and the public has every reason in the world to hate that guy.

02.08.12 at 1:15 pm

Austin Burton

@Celts Fan — True, Marcus Vick was pretty thuggish in his own right. But in a contact sport like football, where who-knows-what goes on in pile-ups and because of helmets we can’t see or lip-read every bit of trash talk, I’m not going to automatically call a guy dirty because he steps on somebody.

And thanks for calling out the double standard when it comes to hockey. Anytime there’s a fight on the basketball court, it’s “There’s no excuse for throwing punches! Absolutely unacceptable! What a bunch of thugs!” In hockey THEY LET YOU FIGHT. Throwing punches in part of the game and “players policing themselves.”

Throw in baseball, too. Guys throw baseballs at each other, then either brawl or pretend like they’re gonna brawl, and the coverage/reaction isn’t anywhere near as negative as when basketball/football players (Black players specifically) go over the line.

02.08.12 at 1:18 pm

EN FUEGO

Remember when Aubrey Coleman stepped on Chase Budinger’s face a couple of years ago?
It was clearly intentional and Coleman was ejected right away. It was a black player stepping on the face of a white
player.

Don’t really follow college basketball as much as the NBA. What was the reaction after that? What were people saying then?

Is it fair to compare both incidents?

02.08.12 at 1:19 pm

beiber newz

Hilarious stuff today ! These playground stories

02.08.12 at 1:23 pm

Austin Burton

And to answer comment #4, if the Thunder actually dared to go “throwback” and wear Sonics unis, there would be a hoo-ride from Seattle down to OKC for some good ol’ fashioned arena vandalism. Not saying I’d be involved, but I wouldn’t think anything bad of it.

02.08.12 at 1:23 pm

control

AB

Did you notice when a guy like Chris Paul punches a guy in the balls intentionally (was intentional, no debate about it) and DOESN’T get called a thug?

It takes more than just one incident before a guy gets labeled a “thug” or something like that. Usually there is a history, one that extends from their pre-nba days, and if they are going to be prejudged, I think it would be based more on the location they come from, and schools they went to, than their colour.

02.08.12 at 1:25 pm

Celts Fan

@AB – I agree, but hockey’s different. Living in a major hockey market, I get waaaay more coverage than I’d like and Cam Neely was saying something very interesting the other day after one of the Bs got suspended and someone was asking iffighting had any place in the game. Basically, these guys are skating around with weapons in their hands while playing a pretty violent game. Take the ability of these guys to police themselves away and you get things like the Todd Bertuzzi or Marty McSorely incidents where guys are legitimately assaulted and seriously hurt. Every hockey fight has 2 willing combatants.

To be fair too, it wasn’t thaaaat long ago that Bird and Dr. J pulled a double-choke on each other at mid-court and there wasn’t even a T called, much less an ejection/suspension.

and my comment on Marcus was about how, after getting suspended from the VaTech team for that stomp, he gets arrested for pulling a gun at McDonald’s on some fans taunting him. Def not the way to disprove that…

02.08.12 at 1:31 pm

Big Freeze

“I just notice that when it’s Ndamukong Suh or Marcus Vick stepping on or kicking somebody, words like “thug” and “dirty” get thrown around a lot more and a lot faster than when it’s Kevin Love or Steve Nash using their feet on an opponent.”

I agree that there is a double standard. Baseball or hockey players start a fight? Oh, it’s funny and part of the sport. Basketball or football players fight? Those thugs are out of control!

02.08.12 at 1:37 pm

Sporty-j

LOL @TWU

@beib newz

U would rather get teaser than pepper sprayed? Don’t u know that that electricity could kill u if its on u to long compared to some spray that may just burn for 2 day…

I don’t usually get into my personal business to much. But ill share something personal with since your a cool cat. I use to be a C.O.( Correctional Officer) at a prison down here called Dade C.I. Yes I use to be a C.O. like Rick Ross. There was not enough male officers so me and my boys knew once we got to work. We were not seeing each for the rest of the day unless 1 of us was calling a 10-33 because 1 of these 2 tempermental as females that don’t know how to chill and do there and just go home. Done got us caught up in some sh!t. I was good if anything ever went down because the inmates loved me. When your in a wing with 72 inmates and 1 female because the other 1 is in the officer station watching out in case something happens. I guarantee u would change your mind about a guy with pepper spray not being manly. I work out every day and some guys use to be like NASA I dont need any. But if something would have happened. They would have wished they had that spray. Is a officer on the street not manly for carry a pistol?

02.08.12 at 1:38 pm

Celts Fan

@Big Freeze – to be fair, football players usually don’t really fight (as in, helmets off and real punches thrown and landed) and the last one I can remember, Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson, featured some legit punches landing and I didn’t hear anything about “thugs” and tons about “heart” and how Cortland Finnegan is always starting crap.

I think it’s more an NBA thing than anything else, def the same underlying BS issues there, but it tends to be mostly basketball players that get that label, regardless of the race of the football player (again, talking fights, you stomp on someone’s face, you deserve whatever people call you, whether you look like MJ, Bird, or Jeremy Lin…)

02.08.12 at 1:40 pm

Phileus

Yeah, the divide between NHL violence and NFL or NBA violence is pretty stunning. NHL players who get into fights are bad-ass enforcers, but then in other sports they get called thugs.

But on that league-level, I wonder how much of that is based on the race of the players and how much of it is based on how the leagues themselves have tried to define themselves. The NBA wants to be a non-violent league to protect the health of its players. So they’ve created a culture where that violence is bad, regardless of the race of the players, and the NHL has created more of a culture where fighting fits into the mythology of the league and the sport.

How fans react to each instance of violence, though, is a different issue.

02.08.12 at 1:43 pm

Sporty-j

Oh yeah I almost forgot. K-Love should be banned from the all-star game for Cowardly act. Must be good though to be WHITE…

02.08.12 at 1:48 pm

control

You can’t compare hockey and basketball at all. If nba refs were reffing an nhl game, there’d be at least 50 techs, 7 ejections and 15-20 fines. The players are also on a different level when it comes to toughness, a guy will get his face bashed in with a puck, and wait until his shift is done before going out and collecting his teeth. How many nba players have even been in a real fight in their entire lives? Most nhl players are in a few before their rookie season is up, haha.

Stern has just made the nba into a giant pussy league. Can’t even STARE at a guy after a dunk without getting t’d up, what kind of bullshit is that? It is just so out of touch with reality, in what other area in LIFE can you get penalized because of a LOOK?

The nba approaches the whole thing as a ENTERTAINMENT business, while the nhl approaches it as a sport for the fans. The nba makes rules that unbalance the game, to make it the game more entertaining and high scoring (in their opinion, not hardcore fans). It’s 100% flash over substance. The nhl, even though there is a trend of having finesse players over brutal thugs, will never tame the sport of hockey. The fans would just stop following the game if you took the edge off.

02.08.12 at 1:54 pm

K Dizzle

“all while David Lee (25 points, 11 boards, 10 assists) went for the first Warriors triple-double since 1993 when C-Webb did it.”

Huh? Didn’t Baron davis play for Golden State n some guy name Steph Curry still play for em?

02.08.12 at 1:59 pm

UncheckedAggression

AB, trying to throw Marcus Vick’s incident into the conversation is pretty out of place. To second what others mentioned, the guy had that reputation long before that happened. Then some other things happened. Dude was an embarrassment if I’ve ever seen one.

I do agree, however, that players are sometimes unfairly tagged as thuggish. Those players tend to be African American. If there is ever an incident like Love’s involving such a player, the media and others will jump all over it.

Watch the Vick and the Love videos back to back. Yeah…

02.08.12 at 2:00 pm

LeRoy Green

started approaching my car like Cujo and I let his ass have it.

^^^^^6

L M A O

swear 2 god I laughed out loud at work and had coworkers lookin at me strange. Damn thats funny lolol

02.08.12 at 2:00 pm

EN FUEGO

Haha. shit, forgot to post the link.

Coleman stepping on Budinger’s face.

02.08.12 at 2:01 pm

Austin Burton

@Phileus and @control make great points that a lot has to do with how the league chooses to market itself and the tradition of the sport. Tennis seems to market itself as the ultimate gentleman/ladies sport, so when Serena Williams tells an official she’s gonna shove a tennis ball down her throat, she’s cast as the worst human being ever on the planet. Not so much the case for other sports where verbally abusing refs is commonplace.

Another double standard is how media/fans see it as funny and cute when coaches (especially in baseball) go nuts on a ref, but players get much less leeway in the public eye.

02.08.12 at 2:06 pm

That's What's Up

I think the problem with the LoveScola saga is that the refs didn’t see it/catch it, etc… or else it would have been a flagrant 2/auto ejection, and then the announcers would have jumped on it a bit harder.

When announcers start talking smack, that really does carry more weight with the public. Like when Bynum got his bitch on against JJ Barea and Tirico was talking about how “Bush League” it was, and terrible, and disgusting… those words carry weight

02.08.12 at 2:14 pm

control

AB

When baseball players and coaches go HAM, it IS funny…I laugh nearly every time I see some fat, sweaty asshole spaz out, regardless of venue. Just happens to be more fat and sweaty assholes in baseball than every other sport combined.

02.08.12 at 2:21 pm

Celts Fan

@Control – ya, and those guys are all wearing unis, which looks that much funnier. Could you imagine someone like Rick Adelman rocking a tank top, long shorts, and Js, flipping out on the refs. My heart may explode with glee

02.08.12 at 2:21 pm

JAY

Please guys, like control has already said, don’t compare fighting in basketball to hockey. First off, in the NHL fighting is allowed. NBA, not exactly. That’s a huge difference in attitude right there. Many NHL players are ready and willing to fight… and know how to fight. NBA players, not exactly.

@Big Breeze – Fighting in NHL vs NBA has nothing to do with race. It’s a league decision, not a societal divide. The NBA used to be a white league… and there was no fighting allow back then either.

Double standards exist but the NHL/NBA thing are two totally different entities that can’t really be compared regarding fighting.

02.08.12 at 2:22 pm

beiber newz

Sporty j

I would rather not get tear gassed, tasered or pep sprayed.
I musta said it wrong but what I was trying to get across was that it doesn’t have a masculine vibe to use pepper spray as a dude. I dunno. Seems sorta feminine. But I can see why it is to be used by anyone, I’m not saying it’s embarrassing.

But I did say using a taser looks more masculine, jus compared to spraying n tear gas.

And a shit jus looks like something the terminator would use.

I think the guy I responded to understood what I was saying. He gfave a valid and convincing response

02.08.12 at 2:26 pm

Sporty-j

Plus like TWU said! He had just got thru playing 6 games. If dude was any type of hard dude anyway. He would not be going up to a dude he way bigger than and should have been looking for somebody his size. After u sprayed his a$$ TWU. U should have climbed to the top rope of your car and closed-lined his big punk a$$ WWE style. Phuck I wish I was there with u because I surely would have taken my belt off and whipped his a$$ with it since he could not see…

02.08.12 at 2:38 pm

sh!tfaced

LMAO @ “…I surely would have taken my belt off and whipped his a$$ with it since he could not see…”

thought i was reading badass war stories from gangbangers… until i read the last line…

damn, sporty. after all that was said about you after the finals. wrong words. wrong weapon of choice….

02.08.12 at 2:41 pm

JDish

I was reminiscing …
Several years back I was playing a full court run with some local ballers. My team and I started playin this one team that had a local guy who was like 5’7″ or something (Nate Robinson type, but hispanic). The dude was tearing us up, he was quick and strong, and drove to the basket almost at will pulling Derrick Rose-like lay-ups. So I switched with a teammate and I started defending the guy. He was obviously quicker and stronger than I was, and honestly I wasn’t the best baller out there but I was pretty good on defense. So I started getting in his face and bothering him, trying to deny him the ball. Well after several trips up and down the court we started jawing at each other, and after a few more trips we were in eath others face to the point that we had to be seperated. But I was never a negative guy nor someone who had or kept any animosity toward any other baller. So afterwards I went over to the guy and shook hands and told him he played a great game. CAN you imagine if the dude saw me coming and thought something else about me … dude would have pulled out the Pepper spray (or worse: Taser) on me; OH SNAP!

02.08.12 at 2:59 pm

JDish

comment #72

Budinger should have taken off his belt and wiped that dude. He had every right to do it too. I’m mean it’s obvious that it was intentional, why didn’t Coleman walk and step in a different direction. What? Coleman is gonna say … “well It’s his fault for falling in my walking path…” Crazy.
Kevin Love got away with it in that sequence since it was in the middle of a play, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t intentional.

02.08.12 at 3:02 pm

First & Foremost

Hold up… Let us analize comment 79 for a minute.

Your basketball shorts come with a drawstring AND belt loops?

02.08.12 at 3:09 pm

beiber newz

“…I surely would have taken my belt off and whipped his a$$ with it since he could not see…”

shitfaced…i actually slapped my knee in laughter..u know those silent laffs where you throw your head back and start kinda croaking like a frog. i don’t care if you ain’t respecting that part, but the sight of actually seeing someone balling in pain, crying from pepper spray and then someone comes over him and starts beating a defenseless essentially blind man with the belt off his hip is straight funny, but almost borderline one-eye closing. you know, how you don’t wanna look but can’t take your eyes off? think 2 girls and one cup.

sporty, no offense, that whole spanking someone who got peppered sprayed makes it SOUND like you were the kid back in the day that when you saw someone you hate getting jumped, who you wouldn’t stand up to one on one, but since he is getting stormed on, you see the green light to get a kick in while he is on the floor tryna protect his body from 15 dudes. and when you get your one haymaker kick on him you scamper away with the biggest smirk on your face cuz you hit him.

not saying you were that kid…but that spanking situation sorta mirrors a youth who would have done that. but still, the sight of someone getting pep sprayed then spanked is just….a bad day for him, funny sight tho.

02.08.12 at 3:22 pm

Mt. Pleasant

@ AB

Nobody called Bynum a thug either when he wiped out Barea.

There’s a double standard, but usually when the guy looks like a gangster not just white or black. If AI or even Birdman did it they’d be more likely to be called a thug.

I didn’t get why the Suh thing was a big deal, they have tons of pads on. But his was a stomp. I only saw the Love one grainy on youtube, but it looked more like he was stepping and made no effort to avoid planting on him rather than going out of his way to step on him. I did lose a a little respect for him for doing it.

Cosign Control with the Hockey. There’s no comparison, its part of the game. Hockey accepts violence in general. Nobody gets suspended for fighting in hockey, its accepted and treated like a regular penalty. That would be like calling a guy a thug for any garden variety foul in basketball.

02.08.12 at 3:41 pm

beiber newz

since the discussion seems to also be on sports dynamics, i thought this would be relative:

i thought it was cool when i was watching football this weekend seeing how many times after the play has stopped that both teams got in each others faces, tussling, jawwing, grabbing, pushing, tangling each other and no penalties occurred. football is a different beast, but i hate that when guys do that in basketball, it’s an automatic tech. even when guys are simply yapping at each other while being less than 3 inches from kissing.

rip hamilton and shawne williams of the nets got double techs for cursing at each other, such bs. it’s soft. guys jaw all the time in pick up games. these refs would go nuts if they had to officiate a NYC playground pickup game. lol, but i gess they trying to make the game more palatable for the older generation… like spurs fans. they are trying to keep the game professional.

PANCHITOOOO gave a response jan 24th as well by saying

Its crazy how in one sport you can do something with little or no consequences but in another its an automatic violation or totally frowned upon. Do you remember a few years back when lebron was dancing on the bull while he sat on the bench with a 20point lead? Bron took a bunch of shit from the media but in football they dance for touchdowns, they dance for sacks, they dance for turnovers, they even dance for 1st downs sometimes. No one is putting vernon davis on blast for posing like a statue after he scores in a game the 9ers end up losing. how is that acceptable? If Bron was a douche for doing what he did with the W in hand how much more V Davis celebrating like he scored the game winning TD.

interesting.

02.08.12 at 3:58 pm

sh!tfaced

@ comment # 64 says he used to be a prison guard. my bad, man, you really are a badass.

but then again, shouldn’t you be the last one to say what you just said if you’re working in a correctional facility…?

i mean, damn, man, what if a fight broke out among inmates and you guards were forced to use tear gas to break it up to avoid a riot… gotta discipline those convicts, right? so you take ’em inside and you say, “im gonna take my belt off and whip your ass since you can’t see”.

those dudes will put down their pants and bend over faster than you can say sodomy…

02.08.12 at 4:31 pm

First & Foremost

With things being allowed in other sports and not in basketball, it comes down to what are you trying to market?

Tennis frowns upon tantrums. Their media will paint the picture as a player being a crybaby and needs to grow up. If a QB throws his helmet, “Look at that passion, he wears emotions on his sleeve”

Tennis, golf, rugby and a few others are gentlemen/ladies games. Vulgar and aggressive behavior outside of a sports action just isn’t acceptible.

The NBA is trying to transition from a barbaric sport into a gentlemen’s league. Why? Long-term participation. Look at your local youth league. Sports participation is declining for whatever reason. Moms don’t want their kids getting concussions or mimicking violent behavior displayed by professionals. Crackdown on a dress code, crackdown on jawing at the refs, heavy fines for racial/homo slurs, suspensions for actions that at one time were acceptible.

The NFL and NBA are trying to clean up their image and make the game safer. Only players that don’t have heavy accents and use proper english are given speaking roles in commercials promoting the sport. Promoting streetball and playground rules don’t help the NBA. Hardcore basketball fans will complain but they won’t leave. No one from the NFL has retired citing “the league is too soft now.”

Making the game more pleasant attracts a broader market, which in turn generates more revenue.

IMO

02.08.12 at 4:40 pm

JDish

So then there should be a standard to resolve differences and tempers in sports. We either implement the Hockey standard, the NBA standard, the MLB standard, or the NFL standard.

So the Hockey standard is letting the conflicting parties have their 2 or 3 minutes of hay-making with a ref on the side to keep it orderly. After time is up (if it even lasts that long), and tempers are quenched, both players are seperated and led to their respective benches to begin the process of healing their egos. No sense in keeping stuff bottled up right.

The NBA standard is basically what we see all the time. Two guys get in an altercation and they are immidiately seperated and told to calm down.

The MLB standard is as follows, once an altercation begins to heat up the conflicting parties have their words with a few guys seperating both individuals. If the altercation escalates involving more players … The benches clear immidaitely into a big brawl until sanity returns and players begin to seperate others from the conflict.

The NFL standard, equip players with pads and helmets and make it a contact sport. Players will be releasing stress through contact bringing down players on each posession.

02.08.12 at 4:51 pm

Sporty-j

Nah BIEB NEWZ! I’m old school even though I’m part of the new generation of punks that I can’t stand. My old boy asked me the other day what I would if he had got into a fight. I said I would watch and hope u win. If the person looked like he was going to kill you I would just break it up but I don’t jump. He looked at me like I was crazy like u better jump in. Me personally would would have fought the dude but TWU is a little man so I don’t know y he did not look for somebody BIG ISLAND size. I don’t care if I was as big as dude or as small as mini me. I would have whipped his cowardly a$$ to teach him a lesson and for messing with my boy TWU. Don’t let that comment fool u though.

I’m as strong as Lebron.
As quick as Wade.
And as skilled as Bosh when it comes to those hands.

@ that sh!try face mother phucker

Nah we already had a gay correction officer for that. So it equaled itself out. The only time they would pull there pants down is on the weekends for family visits and he was the officer specially asign for that task. The inmates you to hate that he was the 1 assigned for that and complain about him LOL. But that’s y u don’t go to jail as they say…

02.08.12 at 8:02 pm

Big Island

LOL!!! Who has two thumbs and is never going to jail? *this guy* I don’t give a damn, I am not going to jail. If I ever did anything where I would end up in prison, probably a murder, it would be because I caught someone in my house after they killed my dog and gf. At that point, I guess I would just say “fuck it” and go nuts. Other than that, I AM NOT GOING TO PRISON. Fuck that place.

A good friend of mine had to go to LA County for 10 days. Out here, you serve like 10% of the time they sentence you to, so he was in for 10 days. Anyway, he came out, his son was born the night he got out, and he showed up for our league game on the same night. He said he just played “ochos locos” the whole time. I like crazy 8’s, uno, all of those family card games, but I can play that in my living room.

02.08.12 at 9:24 pm

sh!tfaced

lol. welcome back sporty. lin is killing it, matching wall all the way. fuckin ny. they win the bowl and now they have a fairy tale story ass of a point guard. he really is the knicks’ missing lin(k)

02.08.12 at 9:26 pm

sh!tfaced

sporty shows up and the heat lose… ouch

02.08.12 at 11:14 pm

First & Foremost

The Hornets had the best introduction EVER. Then proceed to get blown the fuck out in their own building.